"Pussy" is a song by American rapper

Latto Alyssa Michelle Stephens (born December 22, 1998), professionally known as Latto or Big Latto (formerly known as Mulatto), is an American rapper, singer, and songwriter. She first appeared on American rapper Jermaine Dupri's reality television s ...

. It was released on July 15, 2022, through Streamcut Media and

RCA Records RCA Records is an American record label currently owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America. It is one of Sony Music's four flagship labels, alongside RCA's former long-time rival Columbia Records; also A ...

Background and release

In March 2022, Latto released her second album ''777''. She announced the upcoming release of "Pussy" on July 13, through Twitter, revealing that the song would be released two days later, on Friday. Shortly after Latto announced "Pussy", Latto defended herself in response to tweets claiming she was taking advantage of the overturning of ''

Roe v. Wade ''Roe v. Wade'', 410 U.S. 113 (1973),. was a landmark decision of the U.S. Supreme Court in which the Court ruled that the Constitution of the United States conferred the right to have an abortion. The decision struck down many federal and st ...

'' to further her career. TMZ sarcastically commented that, "apparently, a rapper speaking on social... issues is... a wild concept for some people". A portion of the song's proceeds are to be donated to

Planned Parenthood The Planned Parenthood Federation of America, Inc. (PPFA), or simply Planned Parenthood, is a nonprofit organization that provides reproductive health care in the United States and globally. It is a tax-exempt corporation under Internal Reve ...

, an organization which seeks to uphold abortion rights.

Cover art

The cover artwork for "Pussy" shows hot, pink lava spewing from a

vagina In mammals, the vagina is the elastic, muscular part of the female genital tract. In humans, it extends from the vestibule to the cervix. The outer vaginal opening is normally partly covered by a thin layer of mucosal tissue called the hymen ...

, which forms the song title in a stylized typeface, behind the

White House The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. It is located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., and has been the residence of every U.S. president since John Adams in 1800. ...

building. It was designed by Katie McIntyre who said that the "cover is all about the rise of the collective feminine against opposing forces".

Composition

"Pussy" samples the 1968 song "

Girls Can't Do What the Guys Do "Girls Can't Do What the Guys Do" is a single by American recording artist Betty Wright from her debut studio album '' My First Time Around'' (1968). It was written by Willie Clarke and Clarence Reid, and released in 1968 by Alston Records. Bac ...

" by R&B singer

Betty Wright Bessie Regina Norris (December 21, 1953 – May 10, 2020), better known by her stage name Betty Wright, was an American soul and R&B singer, songwriter and background vocalist. Beginning her professional career in the late 1960s as a teena ...

, who died in 2020. "Pussy" has been described as a "protest song", a "female-empowering anthem", "defiant", and a "

diss track A diss track, diss record or diss song (diss – abbr. from ''disrespect'') is a song whose primary purpose is to verbally attack someone else, usually another artist. Diss tracks are often the result of an existing, escalating feud between the ...

". In the song, Latto derides

misogynists Misogyny () is hatred of, contempt for, or prejudice against women. It is a form of sexism that is used to keep women at a lower social status than men, thus maintaining the societal roles of patriarchy. Misogyny has been widely practiced fo ...

. In its first verse, she questions men who "try to police" abortion around the world. She also speaks about

double standard A double standard is the application of different sets of principles for situations that are, in principle, the same. It is often used to describe treatment whereby one group is given more latitude than another. A double standard arises when two ...

s that women face when embracing their

sexuality Human sexuality is the way people experience and express themselves sexually. This involves biological, psychological, physical, erotic, emotional, social, or spiritual feelings and behaviors. Because it is a broad term, which has varied ...

Critical reception

Ashley Pointer of

NPR National Public Radio (NPR, stylized in all lowercase) is an American privately and state funded nonprofit media organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It differs from other ...

wrote that Latto's "bars cut through sharper than a sword". ''The Musical Hype'' gave the song 4 out of 5 stars. He wrote that the song is a "winner" even if it is profane.

Music video

The music video for "Pussy" was directed by Sara Lacombe and includes clips from protests relating to the overturning of ''Roe v. Wade''. In other parts of the music video, Latto raps the lyrics to the song while surrounded by cats. Lacombe stated that "this video is symbolic that we can be both hard (her lyrics) and soft (the world we placed her in) at the same time." Dora Segall of ''Spin'' called the video "excellent" and "unexpectedly adorable".

Awards and nominations

Personnel

Credits adapted from

Spotify Spotify (; ) is a proprietary Swedish audio streaming and media services provider founded on 23 April 2006 by Daniel Ek and Martin Lorentzon. It is one of the largest music streaming service providers, with over 456 million monthly active us ...

."Pussy" by Latto

. To see the song's credits, click on "options" (three vertical dots) and select "Show credits". *

Alyssa Stephens Alyssa Michelle Stephens (born December 22, 1998), professionally known as Latto or Big Latto (formerly known as Mulatto), is an American rapper, singer, and songwriter. She first appeared on American rapper Jermaine Dupri's reality television s ...

– performer, songwriter *

Johnny Goldstein Yonatan "Johnny" Goldstein (Hebrew: יונתן "ג'וני" גולדשטיין; born January 29, 1991) is an Israeli multi-platinum record producer and songwriter specializing in pop, hip hop, dance and electronic music. Goldstein has collabora ...

– producer, songwriter * Clarence Henry Reid – songwriter * Willie Clark – songwriter

References

{{Latto 2022 singles 2022 songs Latto songs Songs with feminist themes Songs written by Latto